Managing Benefits Plans
Managing Benefits Plans is the result of combining two newsletters into one, stronger report. Managers who oversee the enrollment, communications, and administration of employee benefits are the best subscribers to MBP. Titles include: HR Mgr., VP Benefits, Benefits Director, Personnel Director, Controller, CFO, et al. The goal of MBP is to provide readers objective, original data that can help them control the cost of their benefits plans without sacrificing quality. Structuring, maintaining, and enhancing successful employee benefits packages with the latest techniques and technical solutions available are covered in each issue. MBP also shows readers the latest trends in plan design, cost-cutting tactics, and much, much, more.
April 2007 - Table of Contents
In mid-February, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service released Notice 2007-22 describing how employers can roll over amounts held in health flexible spending accounts (FSAs) and health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) to health savings accounts (HSAs) for their employees.
Even before the Pension Protection Act of 2006 gave federal blessing to automatic enrollment in 401(k) and 403(b) plans, Ball Horticultural Company, a family-owned business in West Chicago, Illinois, took the plunge. An internationally renowned breeder, producer, and marketer of ornamental crops, Ball suspected that its 525 U.S. employees, part of a global workforce of 3,300, were not saving enough for retirement.
Success in cutting health care costs comes down to one thing: convincing employees of the need to engage in healthy behavior. But how can employers convert workers who are overweight, sedentary, or who smoke to health-conscious behavior?
There is no question that benefits enrollment is getting more difficult as employers give workers more choices or offer consumer- driven health care as part of the benefits menu. It’s not surprising then that communication and employee-engagement issues topped the list of employer concerns during the 2006 open enrollment.
• Benefits Costs as Percent of Payroll Up to 44.2% in 2005, Chamber Survey Uncovers
Aiming to reduce employee stress, sharpen focus, and increase productivity, the World Bank, with 10,000 employees in its Washington, D.C., headquarters, has been offering meditation classes at its world headquarters for the past year.
Workers are less likely to sign up for health insurance with their employer when they must pay a significant share of the premium costs—typically beyond 11%—reports a recent study released by the Kaiser Family Foundation (Menlo Park, CA; www.kff.org).
Average health benefit costs have declined steadily since 2002. In fact, Hewitt Associates (Lincolnshire, IL; www.hewitt.com) pegs average rate increases for health benefits in 2007 at 7.7%, following increases of 7.9% in 2006, 9.2% in 2005, 12.3% in 2004, 14.7% in 2003, 15.2% in 2002, and 10.2% in 2001.
Outsourcing and Managing HR Service Providers, West Des Moines, April 11-13; San Francisco (Burlingame), CA, July 18-20; Charlotte, WV, July 30-Aug. 1. Contact: WorldatWork, 877-951-9191; fax: 480-483-8352; e-mail: info@worldatwork.org; www.worldatwork.org
Issue: An Illinois manufacturing company sought ways to cut its corporate health care costs.
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